Japanese-Style Tuna Noodle Salad

Name: Japanese-Style Tuna Noodle Salad
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1/4 cup cut dried wakame seaweed; 8 ounces dried udon noodles (or whatever noodles you have on hand); 1 to 2 tablespoons furikake or sesame seeds; 10 to 12 ounces tuna in oil, drained; 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons sesame oil; 2 tablespoons canola oil; 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon mirin; 1 tablespoon soy sauce; 1 teaspoon sweet miso

Recipe from Bart van Olphen

Adapted by Sam Sifton

Updated March 24, 2020

Japanese-Style Tuna Noodle Salad — Jenny Huang for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Beatrice Chastka.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(1,719)
Comments: Read comments

Here’s a simple udon salad I picked up from the chef and entrepreneur Bart van Olphen, who elevates canned tuna to the heights of deliciousness. Van Olphen dresses the noodles in what he calls wafu dressing, which translates roughly as Japanese-style: a sweet-salty vinaigrette of soy, sesame oil, mirin and rice vinegar. I add a little sweet miso for texture and taste, and increase the amount of seaweed in the salad as well. Garnish with sesame seeds or furikake, the Japanese seasoning blend, and you have a superior tuna casserole. It is as good served cold as hot. —Sam Sifton

Featured in: Everyone’s Talking About Canned Tuna. Here’s How to Make It Delicious.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the Salad

¼cup cut dried wakame seaweed
8ounces dried udon noodles (or whatever noodles you have on hand)
1 to 2tablespoons furikake or sesame seeds
10 to 12ounces tuna in oil, drained
2scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

For the Dressing

2tablespoons sesame oil
2tablespoons canola oil
2tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1tablespoon mirin
1tablespoon soy sauce
1teaspoon sweet miso

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high, and set the wakame in a small bowl. Once the water comes to a boil, ladle or pour enough over the wakame to cover it by 2 inches; let the wakame soak for 10 minutes. Transfer the wakame to a colander to drain and cool; set aside.
Step 2
While the wakame soaks, cook the noodles according to the package instructions.
Step 3
Meanwhile, prepare the dressing: In a measuring cup or bowl, whisk to combine the sesame oil, canola oil, rice wine vinegar, mirin, soy sauce and miso; set aside.
Step 4
In a small skillet, lightly toast the sesame seeds, if using, over medium-low heat until fragrant; set aside.
Step 5
Drain the cooked noodles in the colander, then transfer to a wide, shallow serving bowl. Add the wakame and about ¾ of the dressing, and toss to coat. Divide the noodles among 4 bowls. Top each portion with tuna, drizzle with the remaining dressing, then sprinkle with the scallions and furikake or sesame seeds. Serve hot, cold or anywhere in between.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,719 user ratings

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Comments

Bernice Glenn5 years ago

For even more canned fish recipes check out Tin Fish Gourmet by Barbara=Jo McIntosh. Subtitled Great Seafood from Cupboard to Table. With recipes from Anchovies to Tuna, included is a tuna-pasta shell salad with peas, scallions, and diced red pepper in a vinaigrette dressing. Recipes in the book are varied and well described.

Tevan5 years ago

Made this for my Japanese girlfriend and said that it mostly resembled what her mom makes, my ultimate barometer. She recommended just a pinch of sugar and a few more slivered vegetables (carrots and peppers) to add, which made it a truly excellent salad. Didn’t have any scallions so I quick-pickled some shallots in rice vinegar and they were a great topping. Hope everyone is staying healthy.

Cheryl5 years ago

I haven't made this yet, but I do cook with wakame. For a couple of bowls of miso soup, I use maybe 1/2 tsp. 1/4 cup of dried wakame, once hydrated, should give you enough to make this salad for 20 people, not 4.

Robin1 month ago

Sauce was good enough to go with shredded chicken, firm or soft tofu, ground pork - but for us it didn’t do much for the canned tuna, so next time we’ll try it with one of the other ingredients.

Joanne4 months ago

I used soba noodles and made 1 1/2 times the dressing. I liked the seaweed much more than I thought I would. We loved this.

Meg W.6 months ago

I have made this many, many times. I'm not a big fan of scallions so I have been substituting cucumbers. Today I subbed Trader Joe's canned calamari for the tuna. For me, I have finally found perfection!

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